CA2064152C - Limited slack railcar connector - Google Patents

Limited slack railcar connector

Info

Publication number
CA2064152C
CA2064152C CA002064152A CA2064152A CA2064152C CA 2064152 C CA2064152 C CA 2064152C CA 002064152 A CA002064152 A CA 002064152A CA 2064152 A CA2064152 A CA 2064152A CA 2064152 C CA2064152 C CA 2064152C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
pad
cage
opening
elastic
plate
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA002064152A
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2064152A1 (en
Inventor
Robert P. Radwill
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Amsted Industries Inc
Original Assignee
Amsted Industries Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Amsted Industries Inc filed Critical Amsted Industries Inc
Publication of CA2064152A1 publication Critical patent/CA2064152A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2064152C publication Critical patent/CA2064152C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61RAILWAYS
    • B61GCOUPLINGS; DRAUGHT AND BUFFING APPLIANCES
    • B61G9/00Draw-gear
    • B61G9/20Details; Accessories
    • B61G9/24Linkages between draw-bar and framework
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61RAILWAYS
    • B61GCOUPLINGS; DRAUGHT AND BUFFING APPLIANCES
    • B61G7/00Details or accessories
    • B61G7/10Mounting of the couplings on the vehicle

Abstract

A railcar connector assembly includes an elastic pad held in a cage that is interposed between parts of the assembly to provide limited slack of an amount approximately equal to a dimension that the pad extends from the cage.

Description

206~152 rTMTT~n sr~cK RAIr~cA~ CON~CTOR

BAcKGRou~n OF T~ INV~TION

This invention relates to an improved railcar connector assembly and more particularly to a freight railcar drawbar assembly and an elastic spacer therefore.
Railcar connections are made of steel and must be able to withstand large buff (retarding) and draft (pulling) loads yet be able to angle horizontally and vertically and to twist at the car sill interconnection so as to permit adjacent cars to negotiate turns and inclines and to rock transversely. In some special applications, such as coal carrying railcars, the connectors between sucessive cars must permit rotation of a car about its longitudinal axis for dumping its load.
Furthermore, upon buff and draft impacts, the connections should essentially absorb movement due to longitudinal slack (the spacing between parts), such as by a cushioning draft gear, or be substantially slack free. In freight rail car connectors a popular slack free arrangement incorporates a wedge that is gradually inserted between connector and car sill parts to compensate for initial spacing and for wear that occurs during operation. Usually the wedge is located between a follower block and a sill pocket wall. Examples of slack free wedge type connections are described in U.S. Patents Nos.
3,716,146; 4,258,628; 4,456,133 and 4,549,666.

gl~2 A problem with some railcar connections is that the connector parts are maintained so tight as to bind and hinder angling and twisting of the connector even when under draft loading especially in a new condition. This is particularly troublesome between adjacent parts that are manufactured with multiple or complex curves on bearing surfaces or where the centers of curvature of the bearing surfaces do not precisely coincide. Drawbar connectors present such problems; and slack free connectors employing wedges are particularly subject to this problem when the connector under goes maximum draft loading and the wedge efficiently moves between parts. Rotary connectors employing gravity fed wedges also present a problem that the wedge may become withdrawn or cocked when it is temporarily inverted.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to allow limited slack to occur between connector parts generally, and particularly with respect to wedged connectors where limited slack occurs without compensatory movement of the wedge. A
prior attempt to accomplish this in a wedged slack free connector is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,258,628 wherein two vertical elastomer strips are seated in vertical grooves at each side of a wedge contacting face of a follower block in an articulated rail car connection. However, the amount of elastomer that may be utilized in such an arrangement is relatively small resulting in low resistance and chase to wedge movement; and the dual arrangement of resilient strips may cause undesirable angling of the wedge under certain conditions when the connector is angled horizontally under draft load. Moreover, this arrangement, upon failure of . .
either ~ne of the elastomer strips, may require replacement of a follower block that has become beneficially honed to the shape of a connector butt end through usage.
Cushioning draft gear may ameliorate the problems in some connectors, such as couplers where commonly used. However, draft gear is relatively expensive and heavy; and, accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide for limited slack and eliminate the draft gear.

~U~MA~Y OF T~ INV~TTON

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved limited slack railcar connector assembly having a single centrally disposed resilient member, so as to permit limited slack sufficient to facilitate angling of the connection.
Basically, the present invention includes a single resilient pad of an elastomeric material held within a larger congruent opening of a spacer cage that is insertable between two abutting parts of a connection assembly - such as between the follower block and wedge - , and functions to maintain a limited amount of slack in the assembly by resiliently applying a degree of compression between the assembly parts during draft loading on the connector.

d ~ 2064 1 52 Preferably, the pad has a center which is substantially aligned with the longitll~; n~l axis of the assembly and, more preferably, the centers of the pad and follower block are aligned. The cage may be in the form of ~ rectangular metal plate with a through-opening centered in the plate and the elastic pad may be a circular disk held within the through- opening.

- RRT~ D~-~CRIPTTON OF T~ DRAWIN~.~
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a plan view in partial section of a preferred drawbar embodiment of the present inventions;
FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view in partial section of the embodiment of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 is a partial section view taken at line 3-3 in FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional side elevation view of a --spacer cage and resilient pad removed from the embodiment of FI~URES 1-3; and FIGURE 5 is an end view of the part shown in FIGURE 4.

B~

D~TAIr~ D~SCRTPTION OF A pREF~ n ~MRODIMF~T
Railcar connector assemblies usu'ally comprise a male connector member generally 10 that is received in, and pro~ects~'outwardly from, a car sill generally 12. While there are several forms of connectors to which the present invention pertains, such as articulated connectors, couplers (including E and ~ types) and drawbars (including rotary drawbars) to which the invention may be applied, the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention is in the form'of a drawbar 14 that is received in a sill pocket formed by'a yoke generally 16 having a sloped forward end wall 18 buttressed by an incompressible filler 20 (such as a steel tube). The drawbar 14 is of standard construction, pivotable both horizontally and vertically on a vertical pin 24 held at the forward end of the yoke 16, and having a curved butt end 30 that is received against a similarly curved bearing surface 40 of a follower block 42. The follower block 42 has a flat rear face 44 spaced from the end wall 18 by a gravity wedge generally 50 and a resilient means of the present inve~tion.
In prior wedged drawbar assemblies the wedge is in direct abutting relation to both the follower block and the end wall.
Similarly in prior coupler construction a follower block may abutt a pocket end wall or draft gear. However, according to the~present invention a resilient means comprising an elastic _ pad 60 having flat parallel faces 62 of a selected surface area "A" is positioned between the rear face 44 of the bearing -block 42 and the next adjacent connector part such as the forward face 52 of wedge 50 illustrated in the FIGURES. It is important that the center of the elastic pad 60 be approximately centered on the longitudinal axis of the connector assembly, that is the pad 60 is essentially aligned with the generation points of the curves of the follower block bearing surface 40 and the butt end 30 of the drawbar 14. In that way, the elastic pad 60 will uniformly cushion the bearing block 42 and next adjacent part such as forward face 52 of wedge 50 during virtually all angles of the drawbar 14.
The pad 60 is confined to the aforementioned aligned position by a spacer cage 66 which is in the form of an incompressible plate 68, preferably of steel having an opening 70 congruent with (e.g.. the same shape) but larger than the dimension of the pad 60 which is held therein by a plurality of studs 72 secured to the plate 68 and projecting into the opening 70. It will be understood that the cage 66 must be of a shape and dimensions to conform with the connector assembly and fit within the aforedescribed sill pocket. In the embodiment illustrated, the sill pocket is defined by the yoke 16 which has horizontal straps 80, 82 that extend across the forward end wall 18 to beyond the pin 24. Accordingly, as shown in FIGURE 3, the wedge 50 has upper and lower notches 90, 92 to accommodate the respective yoke straps 80, 82; and the plate 68 of spacer cage 66 corresponds in size and shape to the follower block 42 and fits between the yoke straps 80, i ` 206~1~2 82. Also in the preferred embodiment the pad 60 is a circular disk and opening 70 is circular and concentric; however it will be understood that other congruent shapes, such as square, diamond and star, may be functional.
It will also be noted that the thickness of the pad 60 slightly exceeds the thickness of the plate 68 by a dimension "S". The difference in thickness "S" is the amount of limited slack designed into the illustrated portion of the connector assembly, that is in one male to female connection.
Preferably, one pad face 62 is coplanar with a surface of plate 68. Also it is preferred that the volume of space provided between the peripheral edge of the pad 60 and the congruent wall of the plate opening 70 will equal or slightly exceed the proportionate volume of the pad 60 represented by the difference in thickness "S" multiplied by the area of its face 62 (S X A). Otherwise stated the volume of the opening 70 is at least equal to the volume of the pad 60. In that way when the connector assembly is fully compressed under buff loading the maximum volume displacement of the elastic pad 60 will be fully contained within the plate opening 70 and the elastomer will not become overstressed and permanently deformed. Thus when the loading on the connector assembly cycles from buff to draft the pad 60 will resume its original shape and thickness and thereby constantly exert pressure against the wedge 50, preventing further wedge insertion, until wear induced spacing exceeds the dimension "S". Yet at 20641~2 all times under draft load conditions, the elastic pad 60 will permit limited rearward movement of the follower block 42 caused by angling of the drawbar 14.
For rotary wedged connectors it will be understood that the aforementioned elastic pad 60 will constantly exert sufficient pressure between the connector parts to maintain their relative positions when inverted and when the connector butt rotates against a follower block.
The foregoing details have been provided to describe a best mode of the invention and further variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.

Claims (9)

1. A railcar connector assembly having a longitudinal axis and comprising:
a pocket with a pocket end wall, said pocket being forward of said end wall;
a drawbar;
a follower block;
a wedge;
said drawbar, follower block and wedge being positioned and operable in said pocket with said follower block and wedge between said end wall and drawbar;
an elastic spacer member having a generally incompressible cage, said cage defining a generally central through-opening with an inner periphery and having a first face and an opposite second face;
an elastic pad with an outer periphery, said pad positionable in said central through-opening, said through-opening inner periphery and pad outer periphery defining a gap therebetween, said pad extending from said through-opening beyond at least one of said cage first and second faces;
means for fastening said elastic pad to said cage, said fastening means generally positioned in said gap and connected between said cage inner periphery and pad outer periphery to secure said pad in said through-opening;
said cage and pad positionable in said pocket between said follower block and said wedge;
said pad and follower block being substantially longitudinally aligned, which pad is operable to maintain a limited amount of slack in said connector assembly.
2. A railway connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, said pad having a center substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said assembly.
3. A railway connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elastic pad has a pad center and said follower block includes a block center generally aligned with said elastic pad center.
4. An elastic spacer member for use in combination with a railcar connector assembly, said spacer member comprising:
an incompressible cage of a size and shape to fit between two adjacent parts of a railcar connector assembly, said cage having at least one surface;
said cage defining a through-opening with an inner periphery;
an elastic pad with an outer periphery;
said through-opening inner periphery and pad outer periphery defining a gap therebetween, means for fastening said pad in said through-opening, said fastening means generally positioned in said gap and extending between said cage inner periphery and said pad outer periphery to secure said pad in said through-opening, which pad extends beyond at least one surface of said cage.
5. An elastic spacer member as claimed in claim 4, wherein said cage is a rectangular metal plate defining said through-opening, which through-opening is generally centered in said plate;
said elastic pad having a shape congruent with but smaller than said through-opening.
6. An elastic spacer member as claimed in claim 5, wherein said plate defines said through-opening with a first volume in said plate;
said pad having a second volume, which second volume is less than or equal to said first volume.
7. An elastic spacer member as claimed in claim 5, wherein said elastic pad is a circular disk.
8. An elastic spacer member as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means for fastening is a plurality of studs fastened between said pad outer periphery and said cage inner periphery.
9. An elastic spacer member as claimed in claim 4, wherein said pad has a first pad face and a second pad face;
said plate having a first plate face and a second plate face, one of said first and second pad faces being coplanar with one of said first and second plate faces, and the other of said first and second pad faces extending beyond the other of said first and second plate faces.
CA002064152A 1991-04-19 1992-03-26 Limited slack railcar connector Expired - Fee Related CA2064152C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US687,560 1991-04-19
US07/687,560 US5246135A (en) 1991-04-19 1991-04-19 Limited slack railcar connector having elastic space member

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2064152A1 CA2064152A1 (en) 1992-10-20
CA2064152C true CA2064152C (en) 1996-08-13

Family

ID=24760893

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002064152A Expired - Fee Related CA2064152C (en) 1991-04-19 1992-03-26 Limited slack railcar connector

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US5246135A (en)
CA (1) CA2064152C (en)
MX (1) MX9201787A (en)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5360124A (en) * 1993-07-27 1994-11-01 Mcconway & Torley Corporation Slackless buff gear connection system with sliding yoke casting
CA2156657C (en) * 1994-11-02 1999-06-15 Richard G. Beauclerc Gravity wedge for a slackless railcar connector assembly
US5598937A (en) * 1996-02-14 1997-02-04 Keystone Industries, Inc. Slackless drawbar assembly
US5704499A (en) * 1996-08-30 1998-01-06 Mcconway & Torley Corporation Slack adjusting gravity wedge for railway slackless drawbar assembly
US7926672B2 (en) * 2007-02-16 2011-04-19 Strato, Inc. Yoke for a railway draft gear and method of making
CN101475017A (en) * 2009-01-21 2009-07-08 齐齐哈尔轨道交通装备有限责任公司 Couple yoke of lorry coupler buffering apparatus

Family Cites Families (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2149840A (en) * 1938-04-18 1939-03-07 Pullman Standard Car Mfg Co Draft gear coupling arrangement
US2318472A (en) * 1941-03-20 1943-05-04 Fabreeka Products Company Inc Draft appliance
NL187049B (en) * 1953-04-25 Schneider Usa Inc CATHETER WITH AN INSERTION OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL.
US2880888A (en) * 1956-11-08 1959-04-07 Symington Wayne Corp Draft rigging
US2893720A (en) * 1956-11-23 1959-07-07 Weiss Bros Truck dock bumper
US3716146A (en) * 1971-08-26 1973-02-13 Amsted Ind Inc Slack adjuster for railway car couplers
US4258628A (en) * 1979-06-11 1981-03-31 Amsted Industries Incorporated Articulated railway coupling
US4428568A (en) * 1981-07-08 1984-01-31 Rubber Millers, Inc. Force-absorbing device
US4456133A (en) * 1982-03-24 1984-06-26 Amsted Industries Incorporated Slackless railway coupler connection
US4549666A (en) * 1982-09-30 1985-10-29 Amsted Industries Incorporated Railway vehicle draft sill and slackless draft assembly
US4531648A (en) * 1982-09-30 1985-07-30 Paton H N Railway car draft gear with slack adjustment and cushioning
CA1258258A (en) * 1984-02-06 1989-08-08 William D. Reuter Drawbar assembly for connecting rail cars

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2064152A1 (en) 1992-10-20
US5246135A (en) 1993-09-21
MX9201787A (en) 1992-10-01

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